Spinnaker sail jibe



May 25, 1965 NlLsEN SPINNAKER SAIL JIBE .2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug. 14,1963 INVENTOR LE/F /V/LSE/V May 25, 1965 l.. NlLsEN SPINNAKER SAIL JIBEFiled Aug. 14, 1965 .2 Sheets-Shea?l 2 W SNN.

INVENTOR El/' /V/L SEN Mm/w ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,135,121SHNNAKER SAIL MBE Lei? Niisen, 165 N. th St., Lindenhurst, FLY. FiiedAng. 14, 1963, Ser. No. 3222 3 Ciaims. (Cl. Mii-193) The broad object ofthis invention is a mechanical device by the use of which the need of abowrnan on a sailing yacht during shifting of a spinnaker pole from portto starboard and vice Versa is eliminated. A more specific object is aprocess of changing tack while accomplishing the said object. Anotherobject is a new combination spinnaker sail and spinnaker pole. A stillmore speciiic object is a metal iitting for the fore (or outboard) endof a wooden spinnaker pole.

The accompanying drawing and descriptions disclose the invention. FIGURE1 is a diagrammatic top plan. FIGURE 2 is a perspective view `o aspinnaker, the pole, its attachment to the broken away main mast and tothe fitting. FIGURE 3 is perspective of the fitting, showing it attachedto a fore end of the spinnaker pole. FIGURE 4 is a top plan view withparts broken away and shown in section. FIGURE 5 is a cross section ofFIGURE 4 on the line 5 5.

A detail description of the various parts is as follows: 1 is the mainmast; 2 is the spinnaker pole; 3 is an ensemble of the end of thefitting at a clew in the port end of the spinnaker skirt; 4 is thespinnaker skirt; 5 is the clew and attached sheet at the opposite end ofthe skirt; 6a represents standing rigging; 6 represents pulleys; 7 isthe fore guy; 8 represents sheet ropes; 9 represents cleats for holdingsheets taut; 10 are winches for tightening the aft guy 7A; and 11 is thecockpit all in FIGURE l. Now referring to Sheet 2: 12 is the spinnakerfitting as a whole; 13 are slidable pins pressed forward by springs 14;15 are projections from the pins passing through the springs to thehooks, i6; 17 is an upward projection drilled to support the pins asshown; 17A is a cavity necessary for assembling and operating the hooks;18 are interlocked rings, through the outer one of which the aft guysare passed as hereinafter described; 19 is a sliding bracket on the mainmast allowing the spinnaker pole to be moved up the mast when settingsail; and 20 is a pole lift to the mast to be slack in tilting pole downwhen shifting the pole to change tack.

The hull, deck, mast, other sails, jib sail and its stay running to themain mast are all conventional.

The advantage of this spinnaker fitting is for easier handling from onejibe to another, namely, starboard and port. twas only a few years agowhen on a twelve meter yacht there had to be four men on the fore deckduring sailing to handle a spinnaker from one jibe to another (starboardand port). Then in the year of the cup defenders in 1958, they came upwith dipping the spinnaker pole under the jib stay, the pole beingallowed to swing from the port jibe to the starboard, which eliminatedthree men on the fore deck under the jibe procedure.

The invention of the Vim (twelve meter) Jibe left one man on the foredeck liable to be knocked out by the spinnaker pole coming across thedeck. He might fail to fasten the after guy into the one pin spinnakerfitting which is required. To eliminate the one man one the fore deck, Ihave invented the two release pins in the spinnaker fitting.

The two pin spinnaker pole fitting and all necessary rigging are laidout on deck. The two after guys are put under the two pins by depressingthe springs, or if through a ring, they are attached as shown in FIGURE3. The guys are snapped into the clews of the spinnaker. After thespinnaker is set and the jibe of the spinnaker is determined, there isno need for an after guy to be 3,185,121 Patented May 25, 1965 snappedin by the bowman, as with the Vim Jibe. Then, all that has to be done isto release the after guy on the winch, whereby allowing it to swingacross the bow under the jib stay by releasing the boom lift and pullingin on the after guy on the opposite side.

A spinnaker is used only .to go before the wind, and at the most, sixpoints off the wind. The spinnaker pole is attached to the main mastpole which is fitted into a socket. This enables the spinnaker pole toswing on a swivel or a hinge effect, in other words, from starboard toport (right to left) at one hundred eighty degrees. Y

To set the spinnaker for starboard tack, the spinnaker boom is set tostarboard. The spinnaker is hoisted to port, thus allowing the spinnakerto balloon out. By pulling the starboard after guy on the starboardside, the pole goes aft (back). When pulling on the after guy on thepole side it allows the guy to slide under the pin or through the outerring. The starboard clew in the spinnaker then cornes to two blocks snugwith the pin.

If decided togo on a port tack, the pole has to be changed to the portside (left). In doing so, we slack the after guy on the starboard sidelowering the boom lift and pulling in on the forward guy on port. Thispermits the spinnaker pole to cross the bow under the jib stay.Immediately crossing the bow the after guy on `the port side is pulledthrough Number 2 pin or port pin in the spinnaker itting. The clew onport of the spinnaker then comes to two blocks or comes together withthe pin.

The jibe (A) In order to jibe the spinnaker perfectly, it takes six men.Two of these men are on the winch drums and two on the winch handles,one man is on the spinnaker pole lift, one on the forward guy. Four ofthese men have to act at once during the jibe.

First, the two sheets are (cleated) made fast, then the Windward guy islet go and the pole lift is slacked to allow the pole to dip inside thejib stay and pulled in by the forward guy, at the same time the leewardguy is pulled in. lWhen past the jib stay, up goes the pole by pullingon the pole lift. T he guy and the sheet on the opposite side aretrimmed and eased according to sailing angle. The spinnaker is nowjibed.

(B) Assume the boat is close reaching on the port jibe and wishes tojibe to a close reach on starboard. Then:

(l) The port guy is squared and the starboard sheet is slacked as theboat heads oft", to keep the spinnaker full before the Wind (FIGURE 1).

(2) When the wind is directly aft, and while the main boom is beingjibed, tension is taken on the port sheet and the port guy is released.

(3) The pole may now fall away from the spinnaker since both guys areslack and the sheets are attached directly to the clews.

(4) The inboar'd end of the pole is then raised on the mast as theoutboard end is lowered (by slacking the pole lift), the pole may thenpass under the head stay to the starboard side.

(5) The pole is pulled under the stay and to the starboard clew bytaking in on the starboard guy and continuing to slack the port guy.

(6) This is permitted by the use of two sets of two interlocking rings,and two pins in the end at the pole. For the port set, the port pinpasses through one ring and the port wire guy passes up through thesecond ring to the port clew. The starboard rig is similar.

(7) The starboard guy is brought to equal tension with the starboardsheet; the latter may then be slacked. The pole resumes its horizontalposition.

(8) The pole may be eased forward again by means of the starboard guy ifthe new course is a close reach.

T akng spinnaker down Lets assume that we are on the port tack whentaking the spinnaker down. The pole is on the port side (to Windward);the rst thing to do is to trip the rings or the starboard guy out of thespinnaker pin. This is done by pulling on a trip line. The trip line isfastened to the pin led along the spinnaker pole to the inboard end ofthe spinnaker pole. The guy on the port side is slacked off allowing thepole to come forward to the bow. One man releases the snap shackle in`the clew of the sail allowing the spinnaker to be ltaken in the lee ofthe main sail. This leaves the port guy still intacted under thespinnakers pin. If decided in resetting the spinnaker al1 that wouldhave to be done would be putting the other guy under the Number 2 pin.YThen place the snap shackles attached to the two guys into the clews ofthe sail.

Having described and shown my invention, I dene it in the subpendedclaims.

I claim: s

1. The combination of a spinnaker sail and the pole by which it iscontrolled comprising such sail having clews in each end of its skirt toeach of which one aft guy and one sheet rope is shackle snapped whileeach guy is slidably connected to the outboard end of the spinnakerpole.

2. VA combination, as in claim 1, wherein each guy passes beneathexposed pins in a fitting on the pole.

3. A combination, as in claim 1, wherein each guy passes through a linkof a short chain and each pin of Yachting publication, June 1964, pages57-59 and 96-97.

FERGUS S. MIDDLETON, Primary Examinez'.

1. THE COMBINATION OF A SPINNAKER SAIL AND THE POLE BY WHICH IT ISCONTROLLED COMPRISING SUCH SAIL HAVING CLEWS IN EACH OF ITS SKIRT TOEACH OF WHICH ONE AFT GUY AND ONE SHEET ROPE IS SHACKLE SNAPPED WHILEEACH GUY IS SLIDABLY CONNECTED TO THE OUTBOARD END OF THE SPINNAKERPOLE.